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Gigantspinosaurus
| Scientific Classification |
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Arguably
nomen nudum |
| Some scientists consider this a nomen nudum - a scientific name for which an adequate description has not been published |
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Gigantspinosaurus was a herbivore (plant-eater) that lived in
China
during the
late Jurassic period,
about 160 million years ago. It is the earliest known member of the
Stegosauria (the Infraorder tha includes
Stegosaurus and
Kentrosaurus among
others).
The creature's name
means "giant-spined lizard". The "giant" in the name refers
to the animal's comparatively large shoulder spines - Gigantspinosaurus had
very large shoulder spines, but the bony plates on its back were relatively small.
Gigantspinosaurus about 13 feet (4 meters) long, and probably weighed around 500 pounds (225 kilograms).
It was thus considerably smaller than many of its later relatives such as
Stegosaurus and
Kentrosaurus.
The first
fossils of
Gigantspinosaurus were found in the Sichuan province of
China in
1992.
These included a partial skeleton that was missing only the hind feet, tail and
skull (except for the lower jaw).
However, for a number of years, some scientists in the West consider
"Gigantspinosaurus" to be a "nomen nudum" (a scientific name that
failed because an adequate description had not yet been published). Since
articles published by Tracy L. Ford, and by Susannah C. R. Maidment and Guangbaio Wei,
both in
2006,
much more information about the animal has been available in the West.
One interesting aspect of these new articles is that in her article,
Tracy L. Ford argued that previous reconstructions of Gigantspinosaurus had attached
the shoulder spines upside-down, and the spines should actually point upwards ending
higher than the top of the animal's back.
Gigantspinosaurus Timeline:
Gigantspinosaurus was a herbivore (plant-eater) that lived about 160 million years ago
Related Information & Resources
Related Web Sites
- Spinosaurus -
Probably, the largest land carnivore in history
See Also
Gigantspinosaurus Facts
Here is a summary of some of the key facts about Gigantspinosaurus:
- Gigantspinosaurus was a genus of dinosaur.
- "Gigantspinosaurus" means "Giant-spined lizard".
- Gigantspinosaurus was a member of the Ornithischia ("bird-hipped") order of dinosaurs. What this means, is that although Gigantspinosaurus was not closely related to birds, it did have similarly shaped pelvic bones.
- Gigantspinosaurus lived about 160 million years ago, during the Jurassic period.
- Gigantspinosaurus lived in China.
- Gigantspinosaurus was a herbivore (plant-eater).
- Gigantspinosaurus was about 13 feet (4 meters) long.
- Gigantspinosaurus weighed about 500 pounds (225 kilograms).
Gigantspinosaurus Books
Here are some books from Amazon.com:
Disclosure: Products details and descriptions provided by Amazon.com. Our company may receive a payment if you purchase products from them after following a link from this website.
By Beatriz Scaglia
Webster's Digital Services
Paperback (274 pages)
 | List Price: $27.75*
Lowest New Price: $19.75*
Usually ships in 2 to 3 weeks*
*(As of 14:29 Pacific 17 May 2012 More Info)
Click Here | Product Description:
Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Dominant for over 160 million years during the Triassic Period through the Cretaceous Period, Dinosaurs were a diverse and varied grouping of animals, including over 9,000 bird species. Dinosaur fossils have been found on every continent and paleontologists and paleobiologists continue to gather information on the different species. Some were herbivores, others carnivorous, some bipedal, others quadrupedal and other had wings to fly. This book explores the Ornithopod, Ceratopsian, Pachycephalosaur and Thyreophoran dinosaurs classified by largest and smallest size categories.
Project Webster represents a new publishing paradigm, allowing disparate content sources to be curated into cohesive, relevant, and informative books. To date, this content has been curated from Wikipedia articles and images under Creative Commons licensing, although as Project Webster continues to increase in scope and dimension, more licensed and public domain content is being added. We believe books such as this represent a new and exciting lexicon in the sharing of human knowledge. |
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